


When It Happens, Let It Happen

by Two_for_Slashing



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, Rare Pairings, Tattoos, Team Sweden (mentioned), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ambiguous timeline, boys being stupid, it happens sometime after Worlds but I don't specify when, it's only mentioned to clarify when the Nicky/Willy first happens, worlds 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 08:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11157834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Two_for_Slashing/pseuds/Two_for_Slashing
Summary: Willy mentions that Alex may have gotten a tattoo.  David is curious, to say the least.





	When It Happens, Let It Happen

**Author's Note:**

> This is...I don't know what this is, other than me exploring the idea of David Pastrnak and Alexander Nylander liking each other, especially now that there's so much Nicky/Willy being written after Sweden's big win at Worlds. It's also me looking at the relationship between the Nylander brothers through the eyes of someone else - I've always loved how close they've seemed, and it's explored a bit here, along with ways they could be different.
> 
> I wasn't sure who Alexander Nylander is friends with (any pictures I see of him are usually with his brother or members of their family), so I chose Joel Eriksson Ek because a) he's a Swede and b) he and Alexander played together at World Juniors, so at least they were teammates at some point.
> 
> The only one with tattoos that I am aware of is Pasta, so Alex's tattoo is merely a plot point...for now.
> 
> If you are a Nylander or a Pastrnak or a Backstrom or a Maple Leaf or a Bruin or a friend or family member of anyone written about here...run away. Now.
> 
> And finally, title taken from "Let It Happen" by Tame Impala.
> 
> Enjoy!

"So wait, you don't even know what it is?"

Willy was thumbing through messages on his iPhone, chewing absentmindedly on the neckline of his sweatshirt. His legs were propped up on the coffee table, shoes still on but his laces untied. His hair was mussed up and slicked with sweat; Willy hadn't said where he was going after dinner, but he returned three hours later redfaced and disheveled and glowing in that way that suggested he had probably been visiting a certain center for the Washington Capitals. He hadn't said anything about Nicky, even though David could tell that's who he was probably visiting, but instead had blurted out the exclusive information that his brother had gotten a tattoo.

And that was all he had said about it, much to David's immense exasperation. He had a whole sleeve of tattoos and then some. Alex was all smooth milky white skin, unmarred and devastatingly fair; the thought of a Nylander getting a tattoo, especially since William wouldn't even consider it, was incredibly tantalizing.

"Willy." David kicked his friend in the shin.

Willy finally lowered his phone. He glared at David. "It's still a rumor. Nicky said Henke told him he had seen Alex out with Joel Eriksson Ek near a tattoo parlor. Alex apparently had a bandage on his forearm. No one saw anything." 

"But he doesn't have any injuries. What else could it be?"

"Dunno." Willy sighed, tossing his phone next to him. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together. "We talked about getting tattoos once, together. But nothing happened. I think he'd tell me if he did, but he hasn't said anything."

Willy had a point there. The Nylander brothers were known for being notoriously close. David had noticed that, many years ago, when Alex had come to visit Willy while they were playing together in Sweden. Willy had come to David's apartment with his younger brother in tow, neglecting to mention that he was even bringing his sibling along in that way Willy did when he tried to act like he had forgotten to mention something and was just being super disrespectful. David had opened the door, just expecting Willy, and was somewhat flustered to see Alex. The younger Nylander was similar in personality to his brother but lacked all of Willy's flirtatious charm; he had spent most of that afternoon sitting on David's couch with his arms crossed, glowering. 

While Willy was all easy smiles and bad jokes, Alex was close-mouthed and quick laughter; hair so blonde it basically looked white, his default expression smug to a fault unlike Willy's pleasant face. His bright blue eyes were cold, and David had felt like he was being judged the entire time they were both over.

That feeling of judgement grew even more when the two brothers requested food and David had opened his fridge to find a few bottles of different condiments, soda, and vodka. The look Alex gave him was brutal. 

They were good friends now; a few more years spent playing with Willy in the SHL and frequent visits to the Nylander home during the off-season after he and Willy had been drafted to the NHL had acquainted David with Alex much more frequently. To be so close with Willy meant he had to be close with Alex; the two were much more similar than David had initially realized, and being friends with one made it much easier to start a friendship with the other.

This was one of the reasons that drew David's interest to Alex's rumored tattoo more than it should have. The first was David, himself being a tattoo aficionado, wanting to appreciate the craftsmanship of whatever Alex's rumored ink was and discuss with him his thoughts and plans for any future artwork. The second was that this seemed to out of character for the Nylander - David was not one to judge who did what to their bodies, but tattoos were not something that screamed NYLANDER, and if one wasn't going to do it, it was extra surprising that the other had.

To be fair, hooking up with Nicklas Backstrom didn't scream NYLANDER either, but Willy had gone and surprised everyone after Worlds by announcing to him and Alex in a group text that he and his teammate had hooked up and it was "the greatest fucking thing" after winning the gold medal. Alex had sent at least twenty expressionless face-emojis in response while David had sent a "hahahahahahaha u use protection?", only to get a wink back.

Alex had texted him separately, which was another shocking thing. Minus a handful of people, like Willy's teammates in Toronto and Alex's teammates in Rochester, the Nylander brothers usually had group chats with everyone they were mutually friends with - and that was a lot of people. David knew that from experience.

When his phone had pinged and Alex's name flashed on his lock-screen, David had assumed the text was part of their chat. He had been surprised to see it alone, but he quickly got over that when he actually read what it said.

_U ok?_

_What?_ he had sent back like a genius, only realizing seconds later what Alex was asking about. David had supposed he should have found it strange, but at the time he hadn't known what to think. _About Backstrom? Hahahahahaha yes._

_Ok._

David had waited, and he continued waiting, and then he waited a little bit longer, until almost a full hour had passed and Alex had sent no other text. Just the _Ok_ , so odd and out of place that David had no idea why Alex assumed he would be upset about Nicklas Backstrom and Willy in the first place. He stared at his phone, willing it to light up. When nothing happened, he caved in.

 _I'm happy for Willy._ And he was, he genuinely was. Maybe that was what Alex was up to - checking to see if David was a supportive friend, especially of his best friend sleeping with another man.

David had almost shot up out of his seat. That _had_ to be it. _I kno he's liked Nicky for a while_ he added. _Idc that Willy likes boys._ He paused, his thumb hovering over the keyboard. What he was contemplating typing next was something Willy already knew - he figured Alex had to have heard from Willy about it at this point, and if he didn't he'd figure it out eventually. _I like guys too. It's cool._

His phone had remained silent the rest of the night. David was half asleep on his couch, barely managing to pay attention to a competition on The Food Network, when the ping of his phone caught his attention one last time. 

One text, from "Little Nylander", simply reading _Cool._

David had felt something sink inside him at that simple response of _Cool._ Weeks later, after Worlds and several visits to the Nylanders in Sweden and seeing Alex, and even now, at Willy's apartment, something still sank inside David. The continued reminder of the Backstrom-Nylander affair coupled with the mention of Alex apparently getting up to something suspicious in view of Henrik Lundqvist of all people, had reminded David of that _Cool._

The feeling spread through his body and immediately sank all the way down, until he felt... 

David wasn't sure how he felt. 

"Pasta." 

"Hmm?" 

Willy had leaned forward, his arms crossed over his chest. "If you're that curious you should just text him." David blinked slowly at him, and Willy sighed. "My brother. Text Alex." He stood, stretching. "If he tells you, let me know. I think I'm gonna head inside. I'm beat." 

"Backstrom's that good, huh?" 

Willy flushed a deep red, nudging David in his shin as he stood. "Shut the fuck up!" he laughed, his blue eyes sparkling brightly in a way that clearly meant yes. 

"Sensitive, Willy?" 

"Not in the way you're suggesting." Willy winked at him before stifling a yawn. "If you wanna stay just crash in the guest room. And if you're still awake when Alex gets back, don't bother him too much." 

"I'll just harass him over text." David waved his phone. 

"I know he'll appreciate it." Willy smirked. "Night, Pasta." 

"Night Willy." 

David retired to Willy's guest room shortly after his friend shuffled into his bedroom. It was close to midnight; Alex had gone out early that afternoon with no word on where he was going and when he'd be back, but Willy had several spare bedrooms for his big family so he'd have somewhere to sleep whenever he did return. David had sent him one text, simply reading _the king told us u got inked_ , but there was no response yet. 

He was lying on the bed, thumbing through pictures on Instagram, when the soft click of the front door got his attention. David sat up quietly; he had mostly-closed the door, but it was open just enough that he could see the table lamp flicker on in the den. 

Soft footsteps grew steadily louder until his door opened just a bit more and Alex leaned through the door frame. He looked tired, his hair mussed the same way Willy's was after he got back from Nicky's place. 

God, David hoped Alex hadn't been at Nicky's. He knew the Nylander brothers shared many things but that better not have been one of them. 

Alex stared at him with his icy blue eyes. "You wanna see it?" he said finally. 

David pushed himself into a sitting position. "You did do it." 

"Yeah." Alex was fully in his room now, and David saw the bandage on his forearm. He dropped onto the bed next to David, working on the tape keeping the gauze down. David could see the redness around the deep black lines that must have formed the outline of the design as the gauze was worked up; it was like a bright neon light on Alex's fair skin. Completely unnatural, and so not like a Nylander. 

That was something that David had come to like about Alex. He was a lot like Willy, and Michael, and their sisters and mother, and yet Alex was different. From his pale hair to his cold eyes, the natural smug look he wore and his more quiet demeanor, Alex was a Nylander, but definitely one with some differences. 

Alex paused once all the tape was up. He looked up at David from just underneath the fringe of his hair; David suddenly registered how close they both were. He hadn't moved when Alex had sat next to him - that meant it was Alex who had pressed himself this close to him. 

David could feel his body warming with every second of realization. 

Sometimes he thought he knew why that _Cool_ had bothered him that much. This moment, Alex Nylander pressed against him, seconds away from revealing a tattoo that not even his brother knew about, reinforced David's reasoning. 

The gauze was pulled back. 

"No fucking way, that's so cool!" 

Alex beamed at David, his eyes softening. "You think? Hurt like hell, but I love it." 

David gently looped his fingers around Alex's wrist and brought his forearm closer. The Nylander family crest stood out proudly in Sweden's colors of blue and yellow against Alex's milky white skin, looking royal and fancy and super intricate in a way that David knew had hurt like hell. He had several intricate tattoos on his own arm, and while other places on the body hurt more, tattoos were definitely painful no matter where they went. 

"You would get your family crest, you sap." 

Alex laughed, pulling his arm back. "It's not done yet. I need to get our name underneath it." 

David rolled his eyes. "You would." 

"I will." He reached into his pocket, pulling out another patch of gauze. 

"What will Willy think?" 

Alex shrugged, busying himself with recovering his art. "Willy will probably like it, and if he doesn't, he'll live." 

"He knows you got it." 

Alex glanced at him. "Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah. Henrik Lundqvist saw you with Eriksson Ek, and told Backstrom." 

"Ah, so that was the king." Alex paused thoughtfully. "I'm surprised Willy was coherent enough to remember that." He looked back at David when he was done with his arm. "Usually his hours with Nicky leave him a little...sloppy." 

David grimaced. "You'd know better than me." 

"Unfortunately." 

The pair fell silent. Alex kept his eyes on David, and David felt his heartbeat growing louder in his chest. He should look away, but he found he couldn't. The realization that they were flush against each other had crept back in, and the heat in his body kept growing. 

"Can I ask you something?" 

Alex blinked at him, tilting his head slightly. "Yeah, what?" 

David noticed the way confusion was slowly knotting itself across Alex's brow. "You said _Cool_ , to me, when I told you I was okay with Willy hooking up with Backstrom because I like guys too. Why just _Cool_? Did it...did you not like that?" 

Alex's face had returned to a blank slate somewhere in the middle of the rambling that had poured out of David's mouth. David had seen it happening and he knew that meant that Alex was catching on to exactly what he was saying. He was silent, his gaze flickering around David's face, but then he sighed and looked down. 

"I like you, David." 

It was now David's turn to tilt his head slightly. "You mean, like..." 

"Yes." Alex looked back up at him. His blue eyes were determined. "I like you, David, and that's exactly what I mean." 

David's heartbeat had grown so loud and his pulse was speeding so fast he was finding it hard to breath. He felt like he was racing down the rink, minutes away from winning a game. "So why _Cool_?" 

"Because I didn't know how to tell you. I wasn't going to say I like you over a text, not when I was trying to make sure you didn't like Willy." 

David blinked as Alex's statement slowly sunk in. He let out a soft laugh, and then that laugh grew louder, and suddenly a burst of happiness flooded his entire body. Alex stared at him like he had gone crazy; perhaps he had, but that was the last thought on David's mind as he slipped his hands behind Alex's head and pulled him in. 

Alex's lips were smooth and his mouth was warm, his hair so soft between his fingers. 

David couldn't imagine letting him go, not when his kisses felt so good. He had Alexander Nylander's mouth against his, Alexader Nylander's hair between his fingers, Alexander Nyalnder's hands against his waist, and there was no way David could part from him, not when he wanted to get drunk on Alex's taste and touch and discover everything else about this quiet boy that he didn't know. Alex's body was a radiant heat against him, drawing him in, and David wanted to be drawn in to Alex. He wanted every single inch of him. 

Alex pulled back ever so slightly, just enough that they could breathe. David slipped his hands to Alex's cheeks, and he could feel him smiling. 

"I don't like Willy." 

"I get that now." 

"What is Willy going to think when I tell him I like his little brother?" 

"Willy has Nicky. I don't think he's going to be too upset." 

"How do you know?" 

"Because Willy knows," Willy said. 

David jerked back suddenly as Alex whipped around. There was Willy, standing in the open doorway, his arms crossed. He peered at the two of them from behind his glasses and while his eyes were tired, there was no mistaking the look of amusement on his face. 

David knew he should say something, but nothing was coming. "I..." 

"You two are so stupid," Willy said, laughing. 

He had a point there. David had a feeling he had probably been on to them before even Alex had put his feelings together. Willy definitely had a talent for keen perception - there was no way he would have been able to tell Backstrom was down to fuck if he hadn't. Trying to read Backstrom was like trying to read a book in English - he was basically still a foreign language to David. 

"I don't even know what to say. What do I say?" Willy was still smiling at them, and David took that as a good sign. If this upset him there was a good chance he'd have been throttled already. Willy would defend Alex without even giving his decision a second thought. "Can I say I'm not surprised? I'm not surprised."

David and Alex remained next to each other despite Willy's intrusion. David felt his whole body buzzing in a way that was making him consider the idea of telling Willy to get the hell out of his own guest bedroom, but he decided not to push anything. Willy seemed happy about what he had walked in on. That was...unexpected, but good.

Willy stifled a yawn while he waited for the explanations he wouldn't be receiving. "Well I'm going back to bed. There's a lot I want to say, but I'm exhausted, so I'll save it for tomorrow. Show me that later, okay?" He gestured towards Alex's gauze covered forearm. Alex nodded, his eyes dropping to his hidden tattoo. 

Willy was halfway out the door when he looked back over his shoulder. A wicked smile appeared on his face. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." 

"Got you beat there, Willy," Alex quipped, smiling slyly as he raised up his arm in a reminder. "And I wouldn't even look at Nicky once." 

"Oh fuck both of you." Willy tried to look annoyed, but David saw the way his skin was growing a deep red. 

"If you leave faster, maybe that'll happen." 

David burst out laughing at Alex's statement while Willy gaped at them. "Yes, let's be extra loud, keep Willy up all night." He slipped his arm around Alex's shoulder. Alex leaned back into his chest, and David liked how he felt, like he was just right in the space between his arm and his body, solid and comforting and real. 

He looked from his best friend to his...to the boy who was going to become something to him, even though he wasn't sure what yet. All David had expected to find out tonight was whether or not Alexander Nylander had gotten a tattoo. He hadn't expected this, but he liked it, and it was a start, and that sinking feeling that had been gnawing away at him since after Worlds was finally gone. 

And to David, all of these things felt just right. 

**Author's Note:**

> PSA: WILLIAM NYLANDER IS A COCKBLOCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Did you enjoy? Thank you for reading!!!


End file.
